Existing rotor blades for helicopters include fiberglass and carbon fiber composite skins and titanium and nickel leading edge shields. The titanium and nickel leading edge shields are designed to combat erosion. The titanium shield oxidizes as it is impacted by sand and rocks, and causes a halo around the rotor path, which is highly visible at nighttime. This is detrimental because the aircraft is highly visible and the halo can be a distraction to pilots trying to land an aircraft under the assistance of night vision equipment. There is a need in the art to provide erosion protection to rotor blades to improve the life of the blades and to eliminate effects of shield oxidation.